Vital Statistics Death Certificates Geocodes

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The following table lists the geographic variables in the natality data. To access these variables, please read the NVSS Data Release and Access Policy .

Year Public-Use Variable Description Restricted-Use Variable Description Variable Position
2005-present (national level data only) State of Residence (FIPS) 29-30
State of Occurrence (FIPS) 21-22
County of Residence (FIPS) ** 35-37
County of Occurrence (FIPS) ** 23-25
City of Residence (FIPS) ** 38-42
State of Birth 55-56
Country of Birth 57-58
2003-2004 State of Residence (FIPS) 29-30
State of Occurrence (FIPS) 21-22
County of Residence (FIPS) * County of Residence (FIPS) ** 35-37
County of Occurrence (FIPS) County of Occurrence (FIPS) ** 23-25
City of Residence (FIPS) * City of Residence (FIPS) ** 38-42
PMSA/MSA of Residence (FIPS) * 47-50
CMSA of Residence (FIPS) 53-54
State of Birth 55-56
Country of Birth 57-58
2002-1990 State of Residence (FIPS) 124-125
State of Occurrence (FIPS) 119-120
County of Residence (FIPS) * County of Residence (FIPS) ** 126-128
County of Occurrence (FIPS) * County of Occurrence (FIPS) ** 121-123
PMSA/MSA of Residence (FIPS) * 129-132
CMSA of Residence (FIPS) 134-135
State of Birth/Foreign Birth 78-79
1989 State of Residence (FIPS) 124-125
State of Occurrence (FIPS) 119-120
County of Residence (FIPS) * County of Residence (FIPS) ** 126-128
County of Occurrence (FIPS) * County of Occurrence (FIPS) ** 121-123
SMSA of Residence (FIPS) * 129-132
State of Birth/Foreign Birth 78-79

* Counties and cities with a population of 100,000 or more

** All counties regardless of population size and cities with a population of 10,000 or more

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Two parallel sets of geographic codes are currently available in vital statistics files: Federal Information Process Standard (FIPS) codes and proprietary NCHS codes. FIPS codes have been presented here because they are more familiar to most users.
  • FIPS State, County, and SMSA codes have been available since 1980 and FIPS Place (City) codes have been available since 2003. NCHS codes are available for all years prior to 2003, but should be used with caution when using multiple years’ data as NCHS codes are subject to change.
  • The FIPS MSA codes used from 1990-2005 are based on 1990 definitions and the FIPS MSA codes used from 1988-1989 are based on 1980 definitions. This is important to consider especially if you are combining this data with other data based on the geographic identifier.